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iPad First Impressions From Air 2 Owners TODAY

teahupo'o said:
Phones
iPhone 8GB OG
iPhone 3G 8GB
iPhone 3GS 16GB
iPhone 4 32GB
Galaxy S4 32GB (became an alcoholic)
iPhone 5s 16GB (got sober)


Ipadlvr I would be happy to make a video if I wasn't busy enjoying my tablet ;)

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You guys complain about vibrations, had they put in crappy speakers would it be better? The thing has a volume control, AND a headphone jack.
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I opened a thread. Maybe we get some evidence that it isn't all the iPads. Because by reading some you'd think it is a design flaw that affects all of them

About the vibration, I can feel a little on the iPad Mini 1 also. I never thought of it as an issue. *shrug*
 
My Impressions?

Coming from an iPad3, the first impression is how light it is! Admittedly, I have played with iPad Airs in the store occasionally throughout the year, so I had an idea of the weight difference, but this Air 2 feels especially light. This is awesome because I use my iPad to read books more than any other activity next to websurfing.

The screen is perfect in resolution. I am used to Retina, so I expected no less. For some reason with reading books, this screen is a lot easier on my eyes than my previous iPad. Not sure if it is the new coating on the screen, but it works. No funny book spine or distortion when holding it a certain way. I also love the build quality. Not one flaw in the housing. For it to be so thin, I don't feel like it is exactly fragile either. The Space Grey actually looks a little better than the SG on my iPhone. It seems to shimmer a little more - makes me want to not cover it up.

I restored my iPad from a backup of my previous iPad. I did notice some hang when trying to download Pages and Numbers, but otherwise, no Wifi issues. I have both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. I will monitor if I have problems with using either, but so far, so good. No problems with Safari either.

This thing is responsive. TouchID is quick. No lagging as I switch between reading to browsing to playing a game to sending an iMessage. As I play more games and use it more heavily, I believe I will be able to speak better on this aspect.

After downloading podcasts and playing one for the first time, I was startled by the vibration that I felt in my hand. But you know what, I actually smiled. I am happy that this iPad version has some actual BASS to it. It's not perfect quality, but the sound isn't distorted or have that annoying whoooomp rattle. There's more depth to the music that I listen to, so I'm actually now going to play music on my iPad a lot more often over the speakers - I'm doing it right now. The vibrating moreso reminds me of having a video game controller in your hand and getting vibrating feedback. I can see why some would find it annoying, but I don't believe this is a quality issue on Apple's part. It's the physics of having bass being produced in a smaller housing. If there is an uproar just over this, I can only imagine the meltdown if Beats gets implemented in iPhones/iPads in future releases.

Can't comment on battery definitively at this point. It's still on the charge from out of the box which was 91% last night around 9pm. I did my restore without charging it. I'm at 41% currently. My status says "Usage times will be shown after iPad is fully charged." I will let it mostly drain, charge it up, and watch from there.

All in all, I believe I chose the right time to switch out my iPad3. I really like the new features on this Air 2 and I got it for a great deal. It's not the same OMG, WOW! OMGGGG! that I got with my iPhone 6+, but that's because I've owned an iPad for a while already. And going from 32GB to 128GB, I should have it for at least another 2+ years.

I'm happy :)
 
Fantastic device. Love how thin and light it is. I like the loud speaker with some bass. I liked it so much I bought two. Wi-if 64 GB.
 
Can someone confirm that multiple people's fingerprints can be registered on the new iPads?
 
Upgraded from a Mini 1. The retina screen is great, magazines look superb, and it is super super fast. It is even faster than my iPhone 6.

I bought a smart case but don't know how much I like it. You lose the thinnness and the magnets in the case don't hold the front cover very well.
 
Upgraded from iPad 4 3264gb to Air 2 64gb. Compared to my old iPad, it is very light and VERY fast. Pages load so quickly that it amazes me, especially when I'm connected on my home 802.11 AC network. TouchID is nice so that I can protect it with an actual password rather than 4 digit code. Only downside is I'm having trouble with handoff between my 6+ and this.
 
Just got mine from Bestbuy.

The screen is perfect and it doesn't do the screen distortion thing (only when pressing harder than usual in one spot). Gold, 64 gb. My only problem is that it seems to show finger prints more easily than my old Air.:apple:
 
Coming from an iPad air 1, it's a really nice upgrade simply for the speed and the overall solid feel of the device. The anti reflective screen is really nice and very noticeable in a office setting with overhead lights. Add to that the bonded screen gets rid of the air gap that made the iPad air 1 screen feel cheap in comparison now. It's amazing just how silent and solid the screen feels when typing. All while making it thinner and lighter just makes this thing feel unreal yet it feels much more solid than the air 1

This thing is a speed demon too. The 2GB of ram is very noticeable. I can play Modern Combat 5 , go back to messages, go to the web and still have my tabs open. Not possible ever before.

As far as the complains about the screen distortion its a non issue unless you hold it in a very specific way. Mine is fine.

The speakers vibrating is kind of annoying but they sound much nicer.

Overall very very nice.
 
I wasn't going to start a new thread for this so fit it in where I thought it was best placed.

So I finally tried out an iPad Air 2 in the Apple Store this evening.

First impressions, you can definitely feel that shaved off millimetre. However, holding my Air in one hand and the Air 2 in the other, I struggled to feel the weight difference.

As always the latest version of iOS works super smoothly on the latest hardware. iPad Air 2 is no exception, it's definitely a hair smoother than the Air in certain UI animations, most noticeably on Spotlight when you press "Cancel" to go back to the home screen. The fade up/out animation is a little bit more ... sluggish, on iPad Air compared to the Air 2.

Using the Five Finger pinch gesture to return home feels the same on iPad Air 2 that it did on iPad Air running iOS 7.1.2 ... super smooth. Doing that gesture on the Air 2 immediately brought back the familiar satisfaction from my Air on 7.1.2, and to be honest there's no reason for this animation feeling a tiny bit more sluggish on iOS 8.1 on the first Air as there's nothing extra going on in that regard to tax the system further.

As I've said in other threads, I've always been someone who's noticed dropped frames on iOS UI animations. Some can't see them, some will sit with an Air and Air 2 side by side and say there's no difference and to an average non-techie user that'd be probably true.

For myself though, as little as it is, I can notice it and definitely "feel" it.

Also, regarding the screen distortion on screen from pressing the back? I had to push in with a reasonable degree of pressure to create a tiny distortion on the right side when viewed on a white screen (Safari with no page loaded). I don't see this as an issue and when holding the Air 2 like I do my Air, it was never an issue.

The screen showed its anti reflective qualities well in the Apple Store due to the overhead lights but I had to hold the Air 2 pretty close to my face to notice the fact the pixels are closer to the glass. It's a gorgeous screen but so is the one on the Air 2. I didn't notice too much in terms of richer colours or better contracts. Sitting both side by side on the bench at the Apple Store they both looked stunning.

BUT. Is all this enough to make me upgrade for a third year in a row?

No. The Air 2 definitely handles iOS 8.1 better than the Air, but you'll only notice the animation "issues" I mentioned if you're sensitive enough to them.

Having owned an Air for four months now I'm still enjoying owning a thinner iPad than my outgoing 4th Gen, so I have no burning desire to go even thinner again.

The chipset and extra RAM will see the Air 2 well in terms of longevity, but while the install base for A5/6/7 devices remains larger and, more importantly, while devices using these chips remain on sale from Apple, developers will not being targeting the A8/A8X directly for a good while yet.

I'll see what iPad Air 3 brings. To those with the Air 2, enjoy. It's a great piece of kit, just like its older brother.
 
adnbek said:
You know, a lot of issues get overblown on MR... But I had a chance to check it out at the Apple Store today and you guys aren't kidding about the vibrations and screen distortions. The distortions seem to vary in intensity from one display model to the next but they all had them and they are quite noticeable. That's a bit concerning in terms of whether the pressure can damage the display over time or not.

As for the sound vibrations, holy crap! :eek: I really didn't expect it to be that bad... While trying out both the Air and Air 2 side by side, it's just insane how much the body is picking up the vibrations from the speakers on the 2. To the point it feels uncomfortable. And since I couldn't stay too long, I forgot to check how it is in landscape mode. Is it just as bad a feeling or less?

Damnit! I have an iPad 4 and skipped the Air because I was waiting for the RAM upgrade and Touch ID... and the Air 2 was what I was waiting for, but now I'm not as excited. I still want it for the speed boost, lightness and the RAM upgrade... but can I overlook these 2 issues? Dunno...

This is the first Apple product refresh I was waiting for that I've hesitated to jump on immediately.
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Same here, i wait 3 months since ipad cicle was closer, i was ready to upgrade my ipad 3, watch the keynote and became more exciting about it, the RAM upgrade, thin, new screen, but now checking all ipad air 2 issues on the apple store, i feel really dissapointed, i really consider now on getting an ipad air 1,
Or wait until the rumored ipad pro.
 
I've had mine for a week now, and Ali have no idea what people are talking about in regards to vibration and screen distortion.
 
I've had my Air 2 a couple of days now. A surprise gift from my wife but I can't really use it at the moment till our guests are away.

Coming from an iPad 4 it is certainly a darn sight lighter and the screen that bit sharper / closer. The vibration while playing audio is annoying and not something I ever experience on the iPad 1, 2 or 4. Not tried gaming yet but looking forward to X-Com being smoother.

The only real blemish for me so far is that the screen has a dull / slightly blue patch down the left middle of the screen when held in portrait looking at white screens (like here in Safari). Though as I tend to use the iPad in landscape I'm happy to live with it and skip the replace and check game.

Now I need to decide is this the first iPad i take the risk of not having a screen protector and what case to get for it to sometimes life in. (Seems pointless to get a much lighter device than my iPad 4 to have it live in a case all the time)
 
tarasis said:
I've had my Air 2 a couple of days now. A surprise gift from my wife but I can't really use it at the moment till our guests are away.

Coming from an iPad 4 it is certainly a darn sight lighter and the screen that bit sharper / closer. The vibration while playing audio is annoying and not something I ever experience on the iPad 1, 2 or 4. Not tried gaming yet but looking forward to X-Com being smoother.

The only real blemish for me so far is that the screen has a dull / slightly blue patch down the left middle of the screen when held in portrait looking at white screens (like here in Safari). Though as I tend to use the iPad in landscape I'm happy to live with it and skip the replace and check game.

Now I need to decide is this the first iPad i take the risk of not having a screen protector and what case to get for it to sometimes life in. (Seems pointless to get a much lighter device than my iPad 4 to have it live in a case all the time)
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All I use is the Smart Cover to protect the screen when I am not using it. It was helping with the vibration a bit by folding it to cover the back but mostly I just remove it altogether when I use the iPad.

Nothing to protect the back but I either hold it or have it on a stand, I never let it sit on its back as to avoid scratches. I have a cheap 10 inch case I bought at Walmart so the back gets protected when not in use.
 
I'm owned a HP touchpad, Apple iPad 2,3,4,Air, and rMini. I can say without at doubt the iPad Air 2 is the finest tablet I've ever owned. It's a beauty but it also has the brains to match it. In fact I'm planning to break the yearly cycle of buying a new tablet every year and keep this one for a long while. Well done Apple!
 
Charliebird said:
I'm owned a HP touchpad, Apple iPad 2,3,4,Air, and rMini. I can say without at doubt the iPad Air 2 is the finest tablet I've ever owned. It's a beauty but it also has the brains to match it. In fact I'm planning to break the yearly cycle of buying a new tablet every year and keep this one for a long while. Well done Apple!
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That's my intention too thanks to the 2GB Ram and improved screen. The only thing I will upgrade next year will be the mini if it gets 2GB ans updated screen.
 
scupking said:
I see no point in 3x res when it's already retina. Your eyes won't beable to tell a difference. Just like its getting rediculus with 4k screens on phones. It's just a specs game at this point.
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Retina is just a marketing word. I can still see the pixels. It's like saying the iPhone 6 Plus and 6 have no difference in sharpness, they do and I can clearly see it, let alone iPad's resolution. Maybe my eyes are better than average, but I definitely think that the screen resolution has room for improvement.

What you're saying is also true, that after some point it doesn't matter. That point for the tablet is NOT the current iPad pixel density.

Just as a point: Going 3x on iPad will make the pixel density more or less the same as the iPhone 6 Plus, so I'm guessing Apple will be able to use the same screen material for both. Something Apple has always been very keen in doing (re-using the same pixel density on multiple device types). That could also be the reason Apple is down-scaling iPhone 6 Plus's display from 3x to 1080p.

I also think the screen's contrast has significant room for improvement, going to the levels of iPhone 6 will be a great welcome. I expect a big screen update next generation! My brother has a Galaxy Tab S and although in every way it's a ****** tablet, the screen really rocks and Apple really needs to catch up to that level.



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henchman said:
With the bottom pull-up bar, why do you need a lock/mute button anyway?
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I always used it for rotation lock while lying down in bed. The bottom pull-up bar is more inconvenient, although now that I've been using it for a few weeks it gets easier, but I still prefer the continence of having the physical button.
 
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Received this bad boy for my birthday. & coming from iPad 3, this is great! I got the Belkin Keyboard case to go with it and it's absolutely perfect replacement for a laptop (as far as note taking, email, web browsing). Very happy I got it. Yes I know for the amount of money I could have got something else. But this was a gift for me and I am extremely happy.
 
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